Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors
Adventures in Eastern Europe: a cult cinema playlist from Dan Bird
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1h 31m
Directed by Sergei Parajanov • 1965 • USSR/Ukraine
The first mature masterpiece from one of world cinema’s true poets, Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors bursts with imagination. Grounded in the folk traditions, aesthetics, and dialect of the Hutsul people of western Ukraine, Parajanov’s tale of forbidden love between star-crossed Ivan and Marichka showcases his trademark visual exuberance. This magical realist triumph established Parajanov as one of the Soviet Union’s pre-eminent auteurs.
SHADOWS OF FORGOTTEN ANCESTORS • ТІНІ ЗАБУТИХ ПРЕДКІВ
Directed by Sergei Parajanov
Written by Sergei Parajanov and Ivan Chendej
From the novel by Mikhail Kotsyubinskiy
Cinematography by Yuri Ilyenko
Music by Myroslav Skoryk
Starring: Ivan Mykolaichuk, Larisa Kadochnikova, Tatyana Bestayeva
In Ukrainian and Hutsul with English subtitles
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